Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Troilus Gold Corp. (TSX: TLG; US-OTC: CHXMF) has tripled its land position with the acquisition of 11,300 hectares to the northeast of its Troilus mine project in Quebec.
Troilus is advancing its Troilus gold project immediately to the south, and has drilled more than 36,000 metres at the project this year.
Last month the company updated the resource to 121.7 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 1.00 gram gold-equivalent per tonne for 3.92 million ounces of contained gold. Inferred resources add 36.1 million tonnes grading 1.01 grams gold-equivalent for 1.17 million ounces of inferred.
Troilus acquired the new land it is calling Troilus North from Emgold Mining Corp. for 3.75 million of its common shares and $250,000 in cash.
In October Troilus kicked off a preliminary surface exploration program focused on applying its structural and geological model regionally to the Troilus belt and collected 172 samples from 157 outcrops.
With Troilus proving to have an economic project in Quebec and showing resource growth potential, we believe that the stock should trade more in line with peers.”
The company says uncovering bedrock below mossy overburden, prospecting and mapping have identified gold-bearing mineralization over nearly two kilometres, leading directly into the Troilus North property.
On Dec. 4 the company reported one of the rock grab samples returned an assay of 110 grams gold. The sample was taken about 1 km northeast of the project’s J4 open pit, extending the mineralized zone 1.8 km towards the Troilus North property. The new zone of mineralization extends from the edge of the J Zone to the northeast, and J4 North extends onto the Troilus North property.
Another sample directly adjacent to Troilus North and 1.8 km northeast of the J Zone returned 4.33 grams gold, 1% copper and 49.5 grams silver. A third taken from the northeast limit of the J4 pit returned 1.4 grams gold, 0.6% copper and 10.3 grams silver.
“The first pass work northeast of the J Zone has defined a clear continuation of mineralization across the northern strike of the Troilus property and onto the Troilus North project,” Justin Reid, the company’s CEO stated in a press release. “No exploration of any significance has been conducted on this property in 30 years.”
Between 1997 and 2010, the Troilus mine northeast of Val-d’Or produced 2 million ounces of gold and nearly 70,000 tonnes of copper under the ownership of Inmet Mining Corporation.
The project falls within the area outlined by Plan Nord, a project unveiled by the provincial government in May 2011. Plan Nord is a 25-year, $80 billion development project focused on the region of Quebec that is north of the 49th parallel.
Troilus Gold has about $20 million in cash and no debt.
At presstime in Toronto, Troilus was trading at $0.60 per share within a 52-week trading range of $0.40 (Nov. 12, 2018) and $2.25 (January 22, 2018).
John Sclodnick of National Bank of Canada Financial Markets has a target price of $3.00 per share.
“The current trading level presents a very compelling entry point,” the analyst wrote in a research note on Nov. 28, noting that the stock is trading at 0.26 times net asset value and at about US$2 per oz. versus gold developer peers at 0.37 times and US$30 per oz., respectively.
“With Troilus proving to have an economic project in Quebec and showing resource growth potential,” Sclodnick wrote, “we believe that the stock should trade more in line with peers.”
This story first appeared on The Northern Miner
